The present invention relates to tobacco-containing gums, more particularly to a tobacco-containing gum product for use in breaking the tobacco habit by gradually decreasing the amount of tobacco present in the chewing gum. The present invention also includes a breath freshener to eliminate the odors inherent in tobacco containing products.
U.S. Pat. No. 904,521, issued to Ellis on Nov. 24, 1908, discloses a tobacco-based gum containing snuff and tobacco extract in a wax base. This patent also discloses the process of decreasing the tobacco content in the product in an effort to eliminate the person's dependence on tobacco. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 865,026, issued to Ellis on Sept. 3, 1907, discloses the process for manufacturing a tobacco-containing product similar to the product disclosed in the later issued Ellis patent, U.S. Pat. No. 904,521.
Various types of gum bases have also been disclosed in prior patents. One such gum base is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,837 issued to Kehoe, et al. on Mar. 2, 1982. The Kehoe Patent is directed to a chewable gum base having at least 10 percent air voids entrapped in the gum base matrix. Table 2 of the Kehoe Patent lists the common ingredients in a conventional gum base. Another example of a conventional gum base is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,689 issued to Bilotti on Nov. 14, 1967 and is described at column 3, lines 4-13.
Other prior patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,217, issued to Ferno, et al. on Oct. 29, 1974, are directed to the common problem of mouth or stomach irritation caused by nicotine-containing products. The Ferno Patent addresses this problem by the addition of a water soluble buffering agent to the nicotine product. The buffering agent increases the pH of the saliva above its normal physiological pH and therefore provides a nicotine-containing product having fewer complaints of irritation.